A Worthwhile Reason (a McRoll in the REAL World story)
by sammy1026
Summary: Catherine and Steve decide to do something out of character for a good reason.


_Mari & Ilna: What can I say? I'm enjoying this adventure every bit as much as I was on day one. Maybe more._

_REAL Worlders-thanks for all the enthusiastic support. You guys are the best._

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**A Worthwhile Reason (1/1)**

"Lieutenant Rollins, I was hoping I might have a minute of your time."

A young woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties fell into step with Catherine as she crossed the parking lot towards the capitol building. Catherine had become very familiar with various aides and interns who worked for senators and representatives and who occasionally ambushed her on her way into the office in an attempt to get a few extra minutes to plead their boss's case on the issue of the day.

"Call my office and make an appointment," she said politely but firmly.

"I tried that." The young woman was undeterred. "Your assistant said I would need to talk to the press office, but I couldn't get anyone there to listen to me."

Catherine shook her head as she kept walking. "You're a reporter."

"Yes." The young woman stopped just as they reached the front door. "Tanis Good. I work for Oahu Today."

"As I've told your editor many times, we're not interested in giving any interviews." Catherine reached for the handle of the large glass door that led to the lobby.

"I know. He told me." Tanis followed Catherine inside, through the security checkpoint and towards the elevators. "Repeatedly. In fact, he warned me not to approach you."

"You should have taken his advice," Catherine said dryly.

"Probably," Tanis conceded, "but I just had to give it a try."

Catherine pushed the up button on the elevator and waited.

Tanis took a deep breath. It was now or never. "Did you know there are currently over 2800 children in the Hawaii foster care system and that 875 of them are waiting for adoptive parents?"

Catherine looked the woman in the eyes, ready to unleash her protective mother fury. She and Steve were used to reporters attempting to invade their privacy but she would not stand for anyone exploiting either one of her children. Her hand twitched, ready to wave over security, but there was something about the look on the young reporter's face that stopped her. Equal parts eagerness and earnestness.

"As a matter of fact, I did know that," she said.

"I'm writing a series of articles promoting fostering and adoption." Tanis sensed that she had Catherine's attention, if only until the elevator arrived, so she spoke as quickly as she could. "I was adopted when I was ten. I know how life changing the experience can be. The first installment of my series dealt with my own situation. I wrote about how I ended up in the system and how after a few years in foster homes I wondered if I'd ever find a forever family. I also interviewed my parents about what led them to the decision to adopt. My mother opened up about her infertility issues and her fears about taking in a child she hadn't given birth to." Tanis paused and took a breath then continued. "That was _our_ path to adoption, but I want to show that there are others. No two situations are the same. I'm passionate about encouraging people to consider adoption and like it or not people in Hawaii are interested in you and your husband. They want to read about your lives. Talking about your adoption journey might inspire others to at least consider it."

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open.

"I'm not committing to anything at this point." Catherine stepped into the elevator. "But walk with me to my office."

* * *

"So obviously I told her I'd have to talk to you about it," Catherine said as she and Steve sat at a table in the back corner of the capitol building cafeteria enjoying a quick lunch before both tackled busy afternoon schedules.

Steve shook a little hot sauce onto his fish sandwich. "I'm kinda surprised you even agreed to hear her out."

"Me too," Catherine said as she speared a cherry tomato in her salad. "I started to give her the standard brush off but there was just something about her pitch that made me decide to listen."

As surprised as Steve was when Catherine told him she'd talked to a reporter he didn't doubt for a second she had her family's best interests at heart. "I trust your instincts."

"Thank you." She smiled softly. "I did a little digging and Tanis Good is exactly who she says she is. She's clearly passionate about encouraging people to consider adoption. She's been writing about the topic all the way back to her high school and college newspapers. I've read several of her pieces. They're not exploitative at all."

Steve nodded. "That's good to know." He wasn't 100% sold on the idea of letting anyone write a story about his family but if they did make the decision to go ahead, he would feel much better knowing the reporter wasn't just looking to use them to sell papers.

"She also volunteers with a couple of local adoption groups and actually went through the training to become a crisis advocate. She's one of the people who gets called out when kids are unexpectedly removed from the custody of their parents because of violence or neglect and she helps shepherd them through the transition to foster care."

"She sounds like the perfect person to work with if we're actually going to go ahead with an article like this," Steve said.

Catherine nodded then took a few seconds to gather her thoughts. "875 kids in Hawaii are currently available for adoption and waiting to find parents."

"That's a lot of kids," Steve said. "If writing about our story could help even one of them find their family …" His voice trailed off as he remembered the situation they'd found DJ in after his aunt and uncle abandoned him to fend for himself.

Catherine reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "It might be worth giving up a little bit of our privacy."

"It might," Steve agreed.

"Plus, I was thinking … a lot of articles focus on what the children get out of it, how much their lives are improved, but I wouldn't mind a chance to tell people that we're getting just as much out of this as DJ. Maybe more. That it isn't about "saving" a child as much as it's about building a family."

Steve raised her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. "As usual you reached right into my mind and pulled out my thoughts."

"So, we're gonna do it?" she asked with a smile.

"I want a few assurances that the kids' privacy will be respected," Steve said and Catherine nodded her agreement, "As long as she is aware that there are always going to be boundaries, and since you trust her, I say let's do it."

"I'm kind of excited." Catherine pulled her phone and Tanis Good's card from her purse. "I have to admit I like the idea of possibly inspiring other people to investigate the idea of adding to their family via adoption."

Steve beamed. "If anyone can move people's hearts it's you."

She smiled back at him as she dialed. She waited for the call to connect then said, "Hi, Tanis. Catherine Rollins. My husband and I would like to meet with you."

**THE END**

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